Prosecutor Says Cop Was Serial Rapist

MIAMI (CN) – A renegade Miami cop kidnapped and raped a woman repeatedly, and the city refused to rein him in or discipline him despite his history of violence, the woman says. Officer Michael Ragusa finally pleaded guilty to sexual battery, kidnapping, and kidnapping with a weapon; the state prosecutor called him “a serial rapist,” according to the complaint in Miami-Dade County Court.

Jane Doe says the city of Miami ignored Ragusa’s deplorable history, allowing him to kidnap and rape her “on at least four occasions.” Miami-Dade County State Attorney Kathleen Fernandez Rundle described Ragusa this way: “We have a serial rapist who uses his badge, who uses everything associated with law enforcement to victimize his victims even further, and makes them more vulnerable because he is a police officer,” according to the complaint. “Ragusa used his position of authority to intimidate and threaten Jane Doe into complying with his sexual demands or face violence or arrest for false charges,” Doe says. “The assaults of Jane Doe included forced oral sex, sexual intercourse, and sodomy.” Ragusa kidnapped and raped her between November 2006 and March 2007, after he had sexually assaulted at least one other woman, Doe says. During his tenure as a police officer, Ragusa was “also accused of the sexual assaults of other women,” according to the complaint. Doe says the city knew of Ragusa’s volatile behavior, as he had been “denied employment by seven other police departments,” and “had 39 other jobs prior to his employment with the City of Miami.” She says Ragusa’s violence history of violence included assaulting and Tasering a fellow officer, “despite the officer’s pleas for him to stop. He was not disciplined for the incident.” Ragusa pleaded guilty in February 2008 to sexual battery, kidnapping, and kidnapping with a weapon, and she was his victim, Doe says. Ragusa is in prison and is a registered sexual predator, Doe says. After Ragusa was arrested, “Miami Police Chief John Timmoney publicly admitted that Ragusa’s file contained a history of allegations of misconduct prior to his assaults of Jane Doe and other women that indicated a pattern of obvious, continued, and rampant misconduct,” according to the complaint. Doe demands damages for negligence and civil rights violations. The only defendant is the City of Miami. Doe is represented by Stuart Mermelstein.